WPI gets major donation from student who left the school

Wednesday

Apr 3, 2013 at 6:00 AMApr 3, 2013 at 12:29 PM

By Jacqueline Reis TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

A Worcester native who couldn't afford to finish his degree at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the 1930s and went on to impressive careers in aviation, engineering and defense has committed to giving the school $7.8 million for scholarships.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Henry R. Poplawski, 98, who lives in Dayton, Ohio, left WPI because he could not afford more than a year. He eventually became a pilot and test pilot, finished college at the University of Southern California and became an aeronautical engineer.

“WPI got me on the right path. I probably wouldn't have gone to college otherwise. I had no money to complete my studies, so I want to help others continue theirs,” Mr. Poplawski said in a press release. “I don't want anyone else to have to leave school because they can't afford it.”

Dennis D. Berkey, WPI's president, and his wife, Cathy, visited Mr. Poplawski at his financial adviser's office in Dayton to thank him personally and gave him an honorary bachelor of science in engineering degree.

“He came bouncing into the office with his WPI cap on,” Mr. Berkey said Tuesday. “He was just terribly enthusiastic.”

Mr. Poplawski had parked a ways away and walked in to avoid paying for parking. “He has lived a frugal life all his life,” Mr. Berkey said, and now plans to divide his estate between WPI and his church.

“It really makes you very happy to know that the institution that you serve has affected this quality of people the way it has,” Mr. Berky said.

Mr. Poplawski is one of seven children, and his parents died within six months of each other when he was 12. He went to live at his oldest sister's house. He said in an interview that he remembers earning money on a paper route for the Evening Gazette for about 50 customers. He and his siblings, he said, tried to earn what money they could to help out.

Of his career, he said “I spread my wings and got into many things of interest to me.”

He added, “I've been all over the world.”

In addition to his interest in aviation, Mr. Poplawski also writes poetry and prose. In one piece, he recalls that he and his younger brother used to hike several miles to an airport to watch WACO biplanes, which piqued his interest in aviation.

In a newsletter for the Order of Daedalians, Mr. Poplawski wrote that he attended Catholic grade school and Commerce High School. An uncle sent him $200 to start at WPI, but Mr. Poplawski could not find enough money to continue. Instead, he entered the military and enrolled in the Army Air Corps technical school.

That was the start of a career that included service in World War II and the Korean War; being a test pilot and engineer for the Glenn L. Martin Co., which became part of Lockheed Martin; and four years assigned to the Central Intelligence Agency.

His late wife, Claytrice, was a WWII Navy veteran. He said she was from Worcester and they knew each other in high school. The couple married during the war and had been together for 61 years when Mrs. Poplawski died in 2006. They do not have children.

Although WPI has received larger gifts for scholarships, Mr. Poplawski's is the largest bequest, according to the university. It comes as the institution tries to raise $75 million for student scholarships. Including Mr. Poplawski's gift, the university has raised approximately $53 million. The $75 million campaign is part of a broader $200 million campaign that will also support faculty and academic programs, campus life and facilities. The university is more than $137 million toward that goal.

Mr. Poplawski said he hopeful his donation would “help kids like me to get somewhere.”

Undergraduate tuition and fees will cost $42,978 at WPI for the coming year, and the total cost of attending is approximately $58,000.

The university will celebrate Mr. Poplawski's gift today at WPI's annual scholarship dinner. The university said Mr. Poplawski declined an invitation to attend, saying he was “done flying.”

Contact Jacqueline Reis via email at jreis@telegram.com and follow her on Twitter @JackieReisTG.